Call up a call out
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To the credit, nothing is simpler, c/o the DAFaid and DAF Bus Aid engineers.
DAF TRUCKS is not the only commercial vehicle manufacturer to offer customers their own breakdown service, but was one of the first to do so and believes that it runs the best.
Eight years ago DAFaid was unique, being able to send breakdown engineers anywhere in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Today, with this added experience of operating the system, the service is better than ever. The principle was extended egrlier this year in the form of DAF Bus Aid.
At the company's headquarters, tucked away in the Thames Valley at Marlow, parts and service go hand in hand. Any operator of DAF vehicles, new or secondhand, can be covered by the scheme.
Since DAF came to Britain in 1972, its sales park has grown steadily to more than 11,500 vehicles in the 16-tonand-above category. Every year DAFaid deals with around 5,000 call-outs. The majority are made in order to correct minor faults such as water hose joints that leak and fan belts that slip — calls which only emphasise the importance of regular maintenance.
The main concern for any operator with a sick vehicle is to send it on its way again as quickly as possible.
In normal circumstances a number of reasons could cause delay. The driver must leave the vehicle to find a phone. In a strange area, potluck decides who is able to come out to his aid. If lucky, he may not have to wait very long for the mechanic to arrive and if he is really fortunate the fitter may have the correct part and the tools; provided the driver has enough cash on him to pay on the spot the job will be done directly. However, DAFaid is designed to remove all of the uncertainties and to provide otherfacilities, too.
For 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year the DAFaid controller can be phoned on Freefone 3280. This number covers the whole of Great Britain and the driver does not even have to find small change in order to phone. What he does need to provide, however, is some basic information, otherwise he is unlikely to receive the fastest and most efficient service that can be obtained. The controller will ask for the name and address of the vehicle owner and the name of the dealer from whom the vehicle was purchased or with whom his company operates a current trading account.
While the registration number will give the controller an indication to the year of registration, the delivery date is a more positive identification to the vehicle's age. Other details such as the model type and the exact location of the vehicle are essential information that will help the repairer to arrive without delay and with the correct part. All of this information is retained in a key ring, supplied on delivery of every vehicle.
The controller wants to get the nearest main dealer to attend to the incident as quickly as possible and for his own part to ascertain the method of payment to be used. If the nearest dealer is unable to reach the vehicle within two hours, the controller will contact the next nearest dealer who is within one hour or 40 miles of the caller.
Where the owner has a trading account with a DAF main dealer or service dealer in his own area, he is most probably included on the DAFaid credit list. If not, then the controller will phone the home dealer for a guarantee of payment. In either case the home dealer will pay the repairer and invoice the customer.